Martin Lee

Smoke Signals, a groundbreaking work by Martin A. Lee, is a panoramic, character-driven, social history that explains why marijuana affects so many aspects of American life.

Although cannabis possession is illegal under federal law, half of all Americans have tried the herb and tens of millions use it regularly for therapeutic and recreational purposes.

Published by Scribner, a division of Simon & Schuster, Smoke Signals tells the story of a grassroots movement that began in the 1960s and grew into a widespread populist revolt against prohibition. The great leap forward came in 1996, when California voters shocked the political and medical establishments by passing Proposition 215, which authorized doctors to approve marijuana use by patients. Similarlaws have since been enacted in 16 other states and the District of Columbia.

Smoke Signals describes the burgeoning of a multibillion-dollar industry, and exposes collusion by local, state and federal law enforcement agencies to undermine the will of the electorate.

“The big, untold story,” according to Lee, an award-winning investigative journalist, “is that there have been more than a million documented medical users and no deaths and no pattern of health problems attributable to medical marijuana.”

Smoke Signals draws attention to underreported scientific breakthroughs, including the discovery of a non-psychoactive component of marijuana, cannabidiol (CBD), which protects the brain against alcohol poisoning, stimulates adult stem cell growth, prevents the onset of diabetes, and shrinks malignant tumors — without causing a “high.” By mining the plant’s treasure trove of active ingredients, medical researchers have developed promising treatments for cancer, heart disease, Alzheimer’s, chronic pain, and many other conditions that are beyond the reach of conventional cures.

Science, politics, law, poetry, humor, business, music, sports, colorful personalities – Lee is conversant with every aspect of the marijuana story and intertwines them masterfully.

Historian Douglas Brinkley said of Smoke Signals: “This is an important, serious-minded look at the role cannabis has played in American history. It tackles the hard issues of marijuana prohibition with keen insight and righteous indignation. I agree with Lee’s central premise that our marijuana laws are draconian. Every American should read this landmark book!”

Martin A. Lee has been featured as a guest expert on several national and local broadcast media, including CBS 48 Hours, CNN, BBC TV, the History Channel, and NPR’s Fresh Air. He has lectured at numerous colleges, universities, libraries, churches, synagogues and community groups in the United States and other countries.

Lee addresses a range of topics, including:

Smoke Signals: The Great American Pot Story – How a grassroots countercultural movement that began in the 1960s evolved into today’s widespread populist revolt against conventional medicine and extraconstitutional authority.Beyond THC: Bringing Back CBD – The extraordinary therapeutic properties of cannabidiol (CBD), a nonpsychoactive component of marijuana that doesn’t make people feel high.

The Endocannabinoid System for Beginners – Human brain receptors triggered by marijuana regulate the immune system, glucose metabolism, neurogenesis (the creation of new brain cells), and many other physiological processes.

Cannabis Therapeutics and Holistic Healing – Acupuncture, osteopathy, massage and other “alternative” healing modalities are mediated by the same brain receptors that respond pharmacologically to marijuana.

Cannabis and Young people: A Clinical Perspective – How dangerous is marijuana for children? Why do so many adolescents smoke pot? Cannabis and ADHD, autism, schizophrenia, and addiction.

Occupy Medical Marijuana – Legalization is Not Enough! Is marijuana legalization inevitable? What will a post-prohibition society look like?

In a provocative and timely lecture presentation including videotapes, award-winning investigative journalist Martin A. Lee also documents the rise of right-wing extremists and fanatical militia movements in the United States, Europe and Russia and identifies the crucial factors aiding their growth.

Co-founder of FAIR, (Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting), Lee is the author of THE BEAST REAWAKENS a new non-fiction thriller about resurgent racism and neofascism in the U.S. and Europe, which was recently published by Little, Brown. Lee reveals disturbing truths including how an underground network of U.S. white supremacists and German neo-Nazis aided Timothy McVeigh in the months leading up to the Oklahoma City bombing. He describes how the CIA and KGB recruited Nazi spies and fascist collaborators for postwar espionage work. He proves Holocaust-deniers are frauds committed to perpetuating a neo-Nazi agenda.

Co-author of UNRELIABLE SOURCES: A GUIDE TO DETECTING BIAS IN THE NEWS MEDIA, Lee has been interviewed as an expert on terrorism, espionage and media issues on CNN’s “International Hour,” CBS’s “48 Hours,” CNBC’s “The Real Story” and C-Span.

His first book, ACID DREAMS: THE CIA, LSD AND THE SIXTIES REBELLION, now in its ninth printing, is described by “Choice” as “a landmark contribution to the sociopolitical history of the U.S.” Another related lecture title by Lee is “Mind Control and Behavior Modification: The CIA’s X-rated Secret.”